Image Is Everything
by The Shadow Smile
Summary: Hanamichi isn't really the monkey-ish jerk we all know him to be. The change of image affects almost everything in a human. including one's personality. Watch the red head as he battles out all the good looking, most saught after boys in SD. CH2 UP!
1. The New Look

Posted : September 29. 2003 Revised : October 04 - 05. 2003  
  
Chapter One  
"The New Look"  
  
It has been seven days. A whole week since the last time Sakuragi Hanamichi made an appearance at school. All the Shohoku students, teachers, and staffs, excluding Haruko, their vice captain Kiminobu, and the Sakuragi Gundan, would take it as a wonderful blessing to have the red-head absent even for just a single day, just so they won't hear him sing his utterly egoistic self-pointed Tensai song, or to just simply have the pleasure of not seeing him at all for a whole school day. Yes, all the Rukawa Shinetais would definitely love the idea.  
  
Hanamichi was long known to be nothing more than a talent less git who enjoys bullying people around and beating up on students from other schools. Had he known that his body and height were just right for an average basketball player, or even better, a professional. It was a sad thing that he chose to keep himself busy through his seemingly endless string of self Tensai proclamations, and self pity too. Well, who wouldn't? After making a record of the highest number of rejections, it's actually a miracle that he's still sane enough (As few people would consider it) t move on to his life and to high school, and that he still managed to see things in a positive way in his own Tensai style.  
  
Mean while, manager Ayako, and team captain Takenori's aching and growing desire to put an end to the boy's life for his grand absence, was threatening enough to make a suitable substitute for the seemingly, and yet just temporarily gone feeling of dread that most of the students had when the chance of having an encounter with the red-head, or most likely getting a head-butt from him was near them, that it seemed as though the Tensai was never absent at all.  
  
The best verification of their raging temper was how Ayako would send her fan to come in contact with someone's face with an extreme death-grip and force every time she would get interrupted or touched without first asking for proper permission to do so, and how Takenori would occasionally and mercilessly throw the basket ball at the players with each mistake they commit. It was an undeniable fact that the captain acted quite still humane, having the slightest bits of consideration, being the respectable leader and all, to spare their faces from all the throwing.  
  
Even the vice captain Kiminobu, top players Kaede and Hisashi, had rotten luck, assuming how fortunate they were to be an exemption, for they too, have received plenty of the captain's ball-throwing madness. It wasn't that they were not focusing ; It was just that their captain's newly discovered hobby was such a distraction that even passing the ball to the right member of the team during practice became a difficult task to accomplish. Not to mention the anxious feeling of gaining complete humiliation by attracting a ball to be thrown at them with each wrong moves.  
  
"All right!" Shouted Takenori, making all the members stop whatever it was that they were doing, their eyes all focused on the tall black captain.  
  
"That's about it for today, you may all go home!" Takenori quickly headed outside the gymnasium and on to the shower right after the words were spoken. All of the Shohoku team watched Takenori disappear in a corner, completely aware of the irritation in their captain's tone. A silently cursing Ayako was next to leave, giving them the idea that she doesn't care weather if they chose to go home or stay in to practice some more.  
  
"Man, aren't they pissed." Hisashi complained, removing a blue shirt with matching pants.  
  
"Sakuragi-kun's been absent for seven consecutive days, including last Saturday's and Sunday's practice. I'm starting to worry about him." Kiminobu commented, shifting his glasses back and forth on the bridge of his nose.  
  
"That moron better show up on Monday or he's really gonna get it." A slightly shorter man than Hisashi stated in a threatening voice. It was Miyagi. "Aya-chan isn't in the best mod of her life and I'm not smiling about it."  
  
"Dumb do'aho." Kaede muttered to himself, completely certain that nobody heard what he just said. He grabbed his bag afterwards, and headed for the nearest gym exit.  
  
"Leaving early, today Rukawa-kun?" The vice captain asked him, smiling gently while he arranged his own things in his gym bag. Kaede stopped to look at Kiminobu, before simply nodding his 'Yes' and turned again to walk away, leaving his team mates behind.  
  
* * *  
  
The next thing Kaede saw was probably the most unexpected one in all his high school life. The fact that him, the cold basketball prince of Shohoku High whom girls all cheered for and adored, completely fancied and idolized even by members of the same gender for his skills, couldn't help his eyes getting a little wider than usual. And the part that made it all worse was that they NEVER go wide.  
  
"Oi, Rukawa, I thought you were leaving." Hisashi reminded rather tiredly. He noticed the rookie was looking at something, or rather someone, so he let his own pair of orbs wonder to the direction where Kaede was staring, and soon after he squinted at what he was seeing, completely finding rather astonishing and out of the ordinary..  
  
It was someone who looked like a complete stranger yet so familiar in so many obvious ways.  
  
Sakuragi Hanamichi, dressed in extremely classy looking clothes, wearing a calm facial expression that made him look a lot younger, standing in such an elegant position Hanamichi was never known capable of doing, and his hair, which had the expensively unwashed look of redish orange, was straight down and was tied in a ponytail. His eyebrows were thinner than usual, and his eyes weren't that of a killer beast he was known to wear. To top it all off, he was smiling. Not smirking.  
  
Behind Hisashi was Kiminobu and Miyagi, also looking thunder-struck with eyes wide as they witnessed the unexpected scenario. It was then that Kaede went back to reality and realized what the man was doing. Hanamichi was standing in front of the glass window of the accounting section right beneath the glass door where the players were outside of it, standing. The almost blonde haired guy received a white sheet, a sort of document, it's size half of a short band paper, together with a folded one, also white, which undeniably was his report card.  
  
After getting the said papers, Hanamichi opened his mouth to say thank you, opened the glass door and left almost instantly that he just passed the people that were looking at his retreating back awed expressions written all over their faces.  
  
To Be Continued  
  
Author's Note : This chapter is unfairly short, I know. But this is my first attempt in writing a Slam Dunk fanfic and I really wanna see if people are interested in my idea. Thank you so much for reading and please leave a review. People who wouldn't mind to spare a couple of minutes (or even seconds) to tell me what they think of this piece won't go unnoticed, I promise. ^_^  
  
Haruko and the others will make an appearance in Chapter Two. That is, if you guys want me to continue. *Shrugs*  
  
Uhm, one more thing though ; Just what is Miyagi's first name? Kind enough to tell me? ^_^  
  
Flames will be used for roasting rats. 


	2. Motivation Revealed

Updated : October 07. 2003  
  
Chapter Two  
"Motivation Revealed"  
  
Hanamichi walked his way home, all the way putting up with the feeling of extreme uneasiness of each step he took. The last few things he had to do have been finished. He finally got his report card and his remaining school account balance were at last paid. Not that it was actually a good thing, for he didn't pay it because he didn't want any delays when taking the exams, (Not that he was studying good) but because he had to pay it first before he gets to be transferred to another school.  
  
Yes, he IS going to be transferred to another school. It has been decided, and no one is going to change their mind -his parents' mind. Not even him. And the Shohoku high, his former school, would not give him a good moral certificate if he didn't pay, and he wouldn't be able to change school if that happens, so both his mother and father agreed that they fallow the school's terms of policy.  
  
He didn't understand it, really. Having been a given a good moral certificate. For what purpose? For show? Just so people could say he's a decent person when in fact, other than basketball, what's left of his high school life was spent mostly in bullying and fighting? It was an insult even the insensitive Tensai couldn't take.  
  
And speaking of certificate issues, he still haven't got his so called good moral form, given that the lady in the accounting section back at the Shohoku campus said that he was not authorized to get it either because he had to bring his parents or guardian along with him to do so, or unless he really got no such people around to look after him at all.  
  
Fortunately, or unfortunately, he did have such people. Or else he wouldn't be in these nice clothes he's currently wearing and his hair would have still probably be staying the way they were supposed to be. And, he wouldn't have been transferred to another school like this in the first place if he didn't.  
  
"Tch, the trash people put up with.." The redish orange head silently cursed as he released a short sarcastic laughter, wondering why in the world was it required that he brings his parents over just for a lousy piece of paper that was to confirm his 'good moral'.  
  
And then he remembered something. 'Just why did I say that?' He mentally asked himself, the thought of why, or how people tolerated all his harassing, his being self-centered all the time, his being annoyingly stupid. What right did he have to say that it was trashy to put up with something that is required when he himself was the moronic bastard that other people had to put up with everyday?  
  
"Maybe because I'm like garbage to other people too." He muttered to his ego, feeling rather sorry for himself. He, the Tensai, who never liked playing nice, was at the most pathetic mental state imaginable that a human being can ever be.  
  
"Damn it.." He shook his head in an irritated way and fastened his walking. He never knew admitting the truth can lead into the worst feeling anyone can get to have an experience with.  
  
* * *  
  
"Are you sure?"  
  
"No doubt about it. We all saw him."  
  
"Where then?"  
  
"At school, right before we left. Um is Akagi-kun there?"  
  
"No, Nii-chan went to buy some groceries. It's his turn to do it today. But I'll tell him when he gets back."  
  
"I see. Well, that'll be it, I guess. Please tell him to meet me at Dany's by three today. See you at school, Haruko-san."  
  
"Yeah, sure, bye."  
  
The girl with straight brown hair hung up the phone. She paused for a while, thinking of what the vice captain just told her. She'd been worried about Hanamichi, he really hasn't been going to school for a week so it was nice that someone as upright as Kiminobu was concerned enough to let her and her brother know that he'd seen the guy. But the sudden change of appearance? Sure, it's not something bad but actually quite the opposite. But still, for what reason? And her brother Takenori's so pissed he probably won't even notice if they ever met somewhere when he starts beating the crap out of Hanamichi.  
  
"Nah, Nii-chan wouldn't do such a cruel thing." She smiled at what she said and grabbed a magazine from under the table. She set herself in a comfortable position on the sofa and began to read.  
  
* * *  
  
Yohei walked the familiar alley that lead to Hanamichi's house. He'd been told by the vice captain on the phone about the 'changes' and the papers the guy was carrying and of course, unlike everybody else, again excluding Haruko and Kiminobu, he was worried regarding his friend's one whole week of absence. As for the rest of the Sakuragi Gundan? Well, he really wasn't sure anymore. But he figured that still, somebody had to care enough to at least try to know what in the world was going on with the 'red head' before another Monday passes that Hanamichi doesn't come to school.  
  
And now, he finally reached his destination. The Sakuragi Gundan member, now standing in front of the Tensai's house, hesitated weather if he should ring the doorbell first or just simply get his friend to come out by calling his name. He wanted both at the same time, to see his friend and to know what's been up with his head lately and he had no plans on busting this opportunity off.  
  
After quite a while of thinking, he finally made a decision and rang the doorbell instead. If people were what drove the Tensai to his sudden changes,, and if those people were in the place he's standing in front of now, then it's best that he pretend to know nothing and pretend that there's actually nothing to know about.  
  
Two rings and a woman with long black wavy hair, probably in her late forties, came out of the door and went to the gate acknowledge him. "Yes?" She said in a motherly sweet tone. Yohei was taken a back a bit. He was right when he thought there were people inside Hanamichi's apartment but now he's putting on a second thought weather if these were bad people or not.  
  
"Um, is Hanamichi there?" He asked in the most polite and calm tone he could manage.  
  
"Yes, he's up there in his room. But who are you?" The lady asked in return right after pointing to where the boy, Hanamichi was.  
  
"My name's Yohei. His class mate. Can I go see him?"  
  
"I'm afraid that'd be impossible, dear." She answered rather disappointedly. "You see, me and his father agreed that he will not be allowed to see anyone at all or get outside the house until he's to be transferred to his new school."  
  
"Transferred?" Yohei tried his best to stop himself from asking about few certain things. Let alone the mention of Hanamichi's father. And just what is this woman to him anyway?  
  
"Oh my, I think I said too much. I'm really sorry boy, but I must go now." She turned afterwards to head back for the door but stopped as she heard Yohei's voice.  
  
"Wait ma'am!"  
  
The lady turned back to face him, all puzzled.  
  
"You said he's not allowed to go out until he's 'transferred'. How come four my school mates saw him just yesterday before they went home then?" The lady's face turned pale.  
  
"They.. They saw him?" The lady gave him a cold stare.  
  
"Yes, well, our basketball vice captain said he and the others from the team saw him yesterday, in an all new look?"  
  
"We should've never allowed him to go." The lady shook her head and went to leave the boy outside of the gates.  
  
"Um-"  
  
"You hurry up and get out before I go and call the police!"  
  
Yohei couldn't do anything but to obey the woman. Just what was up with her? Didn't even have enough kindness to tell who she was. So having been left alone, with no information collected, Hanamichi's best friend left.  
  
* * *  
  
Takenori got home, only to find his sister Haruko on the couch, asleep, the magazine she was reading laying open on top of her face, the front and back cover facing upwards.  
  
The big Shohoku captain sighed and went over to where the girl was napping and shook her gently.  
  
"Hey, wake up, the groceries are here. You said you'll do the cooking. Mom and dad's not here you know. Get up." Takenori continued shaking the girl gently on the shoulder.  
  
"Uhmm..." Haruko shifted and started stretching before finally getting out of the state of semi-wake ness. "Nii-chan, what took you so long?"  
  
"I walked."  
  
"Really!" The brown haired girl pouted while getting up. "Turning something that's suppose to be urgent into an exercise! Basketball players these days! I just hope I don't loose my appetite!" She snorted and grabbed the bag of groceries to take them to the kitchen. Her brother sighed again.  
  
It was then that he decided to check the phone if there were any calls. One button pushing was enough to display the number of Kiminobu, since he was the last to call at the Akagi residence that day.  
  
"Kogure called?" Takenori asked, assuming that his voice reached the girl in the kitchen.  
  
"Yeah! He told me to tell you to meet him at Dany's!"  
  
"What time?"  
  
"At three to day~! And um, oh!" She exclaimed, dropping the pan on the kitchen floor. She hurried up back to the living room and grabbed the sleeves of the captain.  
  
"There's something else. He told me something very interesting. I'm not sure if I'm ready to believe it though. I really found what he said quite disturbing, it is."  
  
Takenori raised an eyebrow and sat down on the couch. He motioned for his sister to do the same and asked her to start the talking  
  
* * *  
  
Hanamichi quietly laid on his stomach on the bed, thinking hard. He laughed at himself. Thinking was not something Sakuragi Hanamichi was accustomed of doing. But it was a good thing that he's starting to now, he thought rather positively, and with a smile. Perhaps this was the punishment he needed to get his brain to function more sufficiently.  
  
He was really hoping that this was enough to please his parents. He had let them down countless of times when he was still in Junior High and well, his continuing of being the monstrous bully that he was and still is, had gotten his situation a little more serious, his mother and father's temper a little more serious, and things more serious than he had expected.  
  
He shrugged in shame as he remembered the argument he had with his parents just about a week ago.  
  
* * *Flash Back* * *  
  
Hanamichi got home early that day, whining and cursing their gorilla basketball captain for ever being born. Not only did the Gori-man notice and mocker each of the red head's mistakes but gave him six head punches for singing his Tensai song! SIX!!! "And he's supposed to be OUR captain! Darn big gorilla! And that dumb Kitsune!"  
  
The Tensai opened the door to his apartment and was surprise at the sight of both his mother and father. What were they doing here? For what purpose? For what reason? Hanamichi suddenly found himself all wuiet as head inside, never daring to take a glance at either of the two.  
  
" 'Glad you still have the concern to come home at least before seven." He heard his father, Mr. Sakuragi's heavy and icy voice.  
  
"It's basketball practice, old man, not some dumb good time get-together."  
  
"Don't argue!" It was hard to act like the Tensai whenever it was his father he was talking to. And killer eyes never seem to work for him too so he just dropped the attempt and listened to his screaming, also red-headed dad.  
  
"If you think you're still a kid, then so be it but at least try to think of your future. Don't you have any plans of fulfilling your dreams at all?" His mother, sounded pleading but Hanamichi didn't have the mercy to lower his tone.  
  
"Sorry. But I don't have any dreams to fulfill." That simple statement meant a lot for both his parents and it alone, was enough to intensify his dad's already enraged temper. So before Hanamichi could completely make it up stares, his dad, already in his early fifties but still looking quite young and strong, pulled the collar of his blue school uniform from the back and sent him crashing hard onto the solid floor.  
  
His mother screamed for her husband to stop, which the man did, still looking at attempting to stand figure of his son. "You worthless kid! I can't believe we spent a lot of cash just to raise you properly! Yeah, go ahead and become a bum!"  
  
When Hanamichi regained balance to stand up, he noticed there was blood on his head and quickly wiped it away with his left hand rather in an irritated way. "You said it yourself. I'm worthless. So are you still wasting time trying to turn me into the 'ideal son'? You should have killed me a long time ago. When I was still inside your womb." Hanamichi looked at the woman beside his father, her eyes all watery. She couldn't believe what her son was saying.  
  
"Yeah, I guess we should have!" His father blurted out. "But now that you're already sixteen and turning seventeen you finally have the guts to say that to our faces because you know fully well that we won't be able to do that! Not as dumb as you look now, aren't we?"  
  
Hanamichi decided to ignore this. Talks of this sort will only lead at the same thing over an over again and he didn't like it. So he went up stares, as if pretending that nothing happened and that they never were there.  
  
"Yes, go ahead! Go to your stinkin' room and stay there to rot until your brain falls apart! If you even have one!"  
  
Hanamichi didn't really fell hurt. Just annoyed. Well, he receives that sort of an insult at least five times a day from Takenori and other bonuses from his teammates. Just one question though that kept on flying around his mind. Why did they have to repeat all the time? Sure, he couldn't care less about what other people think but when they say it repeatedly..  
  
Before he knew it, he found himself wiping his tears fro his face and trying his best to keep any more from falling. No, he didn't feel hurt. Just annoyed. Just plainly annoyed.  
  
That night was the night when the decision of transferring him to another school was made. He didn't protest. He simply let them do what they desire. After all, it was always his fault that shit keeps happening to his life. Well, shit happens and it just so happened that it was his fault again this time that it did.  
  
* * * End of Flash Back* * *  
  
'Maybe because people were putting up with my continuous singing of my Tensai song..?' He thought in great disgust.  
  
"That's right." He said to himself, getting up in a sitting position on the bed. "I'll be leaving tomorrow and it's not nice carry some bitter memories with me."  
  
He stood up and went to over the mirror to face the image of himself. There, he saw the all new Hanamichi, decently looking, but still quite as determined and aggressive as before. Unfamiliar on the outside yet somehow still the same on the inside. What more could he want? Once he starts showing himself off, all those fifty girls that had gotten rid of him even before he had the chance to be a part of their lives will be begging for him to come back. And Haruko.. Hanamichi closed his eyes and a smile curved his lips. 'What would the Kitsune say if the girl that is simply crazy for him would fall in love with another guy. And me even? And Haruko-chan.. I wonder what she'd say once she sees me..'  
  
And then he opened his eyes back to look at his own image again. 'Something's wrong.' Hethought. "These brown eyes aren't fit to my redish gold orange hair."  
  
Before he could continue his examining however, the door slammed open and in came his father. "We need to talk." The man simply stated and went out of the room. Hanamichi didn't what he was going to talk to the 'old man' about but followed anyway, making a promise to himself that once his parents' crap is over, he, the Tensai, will take control of everything.  
  
* * *  
  
To Be continued  
  
* * *  
  
Akemichan : That's okay. I really don't mind weather if it's proper or not, as long as you're interested in my story. And that I can see that what you're trying to say is intentionally good. ^_^ Thanks for the review!  
  
hagane : Thanks for telling me Miyagi's first name, though, he really made no appearance in this chapter. -_- and no, this not Yaoi. But there will be hints. *Grin* Still, no blatant description of Yaoi relationships. Thanks for the review!  
  
Kenren19 : Thanks for Miyagi's first name. Eh, you were shocked? Heehee, I'm very flattened! Er, flattered.. ^_^ And about Hanamichi's hair.. well.. let's just say it grew back. He had his hair cut during the mid school year. In my fanfic, it's almost the end of our Tensai's year as a freshman. ^_^ Thanks for the review!  
  
ShiNichi : Thanks for Miyagi's nick! And for the review too! 'Hope you're still reading! ^_^  
  
daishi'cha : Ah, I can see from what you said that you dislike haruko? Hmm. well, don't worry 'cause this fanfic won't end up with them being together. Though there'll be some seducing, just to teach the little beauty a lesson. And no, this is not Yaoi but just plain mild Shounen Ai ; which means there'll still be hints on it towards Yaoi only not so blatantly.. so cheer up! Thanks for the review! ^_^  
  
anime-luverjc : Thanks for Miyagi's nick! And yes, of course I'll continue! And I'm sure you already know what's behind Hanamichi's change by now. ^_^ Thanks for the review!  
  
Pale Pilsen : Hmm.. you know, weather if people agree with me or not, in my own humble opinion, you've got an EXTREME point there. Very few people recocnizes the man behind the idiot. Whenever I'm reading a Ruhana fic, I'm always hoping that he author is not doing it just for the sake of the pairing but for the sake of the character as well. Though, my Hanamichi in this fanfic is quite ooc himself! And yes, this won't be Yaoi, meaning there'll be no blatant sex between two guys. But there'll be hints. ^_^ Thanks for the review, and I hope you're still reading!  
  
Seedsop : Eh? Was it even a cliff hanger? Oh dear.. I'm terribly sorry! I just wanted to see if people are interested in my idea! Anyway, thanks for Miyagi's nick and for the review too! 'Hope you're still reading! ^_^  
  
Bomb : Yup, well, it WAS my intention to make him look gorgeous! I wanted people to respect him! Thanks for the review and please keep on doin' so! ^_^  
  
Mystique : Sure, I'll continue! And no, this isn't Yaoi but just plain mild Shounen ai. Means there'll be hints!!! ^_^ thanks for the review! 'Hope you'll stay with this fanfic to the end! ^_^  
  
Blue-eyed Fox : Ruhana? Hmm. maybe. ~_^ We're gonna have to see! ^_^ Thanks for the review! 'Hope this isn't the last time you'll read this fic! ^_^  
  
Chris37 : Ha.. yeah, man, major changes. And that's not all! 'Cuz this is not the last time he's gonna do it! Thanks for the review and keep on reading, I hope! ^_^  
  
miracle*me : I think I remember too that fic, now that you mentioned it. I think the title of that fic was "The Image", right? But no, this won't have a similar plot with that one, given that in that fanfic, Hanamichi was too formal and too bizarre. Not that I don't like it, you know. And that was Ruhana. Well, thanks for the review and please keep it coming, I hope! ^_^  
  
Sae07 : Yeah, a short one, sae. Just to see if people are interested. Which I'm very thankful that they are! And no, you don't need to tell me Miyagi's first name anymore! Oh, and you wanna know what's up with the Tensai? Then you're gonnahave to read 'cuz I'm not telling! Buwahaha! Thanks for the review and keep in touch, friend! ^_^  
  
keli : Hmm.. Really? You were never this excited before? That's good to hear! So nice! No, not Yaoi but just Shounen Ai. Meaning there'll STILL be hints! Haha! ^_^ Thanks for the review and I hope you keep on reading my story! ^_^  
  
Author's Note : Wow, you guys ARE interested! Well, there you have it guys. Chapter two! Well, like I said, this won't be Yaoi, meaning no lemon involved and such. But still there will be hints! And I want to focus on Hanamichi the man too! You know just to try to please both the Yaoi fans and those who are not. Well, see you all in Chapter three! Thanks for all the comments! ^_^ 


End file.
